The key statement is "Teachers will be required to adapt the way they teach to accommodate this new technology." Several factors mentioned here influenced the outcomes for students, not the least being the nervousness of teachers and the lack of suitable e-reading material; not a combination conducive to improving learning outcomes for students under any conditions, especially for students who already experience difficulty with aspects of learning. Schools looking to adopt a blended e-learning approach to teaching will indeed need to ensure that they have a robust infrastructure although not all e-learning resources are dependent on continuous web access. The winning formula: Sound pedagogical practice + the most engaging & appropriate technology available = successful outcomes for learners.

iPads are an effective tool used within classrooms as it keeps students engaged with their work. Walsh (2009) discusses the affect technology is having on society as well as in the classrooms. As students are now given the opportunity to read electronically, allowing students to visually and interactively view novels through technological advancements such as iPad’s, enhances ones understanding of specific issues as it allows information to be read, listened to and comprehended in an interesting manner. Nonetheless the use of technology in the classroom does not come without opportunities as well as challenges for the teachers who use them to support learning. The main aim of the research project throughout this source was to see the effect iPads as an eBook has on students and if it has any impact on their learning. Results showed that although the students participating in the study reported an increase in engagement when using the iPad, there was not a corresponding rise in achievement. It was also seen that at times it served as a distracter and it also frustrated attempts to engage the students in “offline” discussion, suggesting there are strong implications for pedagogy. This source allows teachers to be prepared for any problems they may encounter when using iPads in the classroom as well as being able to relate to the other teachers that had mixed feelings.

Teaching strategies that can be implemented in the classroom with the use of iPads include having students use a range of applications that the teacher can download relating to any topic. For example when teaching Maths the teacher can resort to the range of application that teach students how to add and subtract in an engaging manner. Students can also use their iPads as an eBook and read and write about a range of books. This will ensure that all students are engaged and interacting with their work. Following on, as a form of assessment, the students can then read and write about the same book without the use of technology and have students discuss their experience with the rest of the class. Observing and recording how students respond is also an effective tool when assessing students.

Confronting the Cult of Objectivity CounterPunch Objectivity could have value as a pedagogical approach, if it was defined as attempting to provide students with an accurate understanding of how the world really works (independent of political...

Darren Smith's insight:

An interesting perspective on the post-modern debate in English and History.

We’d had enough technology, and now it was time to re-engage as a class. Clearly, the iMacs had become a deterrent to learning rather than a catalyst, so it was time to re-group. Would I recommend the above strategy to middle or high school students?

When we think about K-12 and higher education, educators think of them as two separate entities. Within K-12, we divide it further; primary, junior, intermediate, and senior. These artificial silos create barriers to sharing professionally about the biggest questions in education: how do students learn and what is learning? How do we recognize learning when we see it? Through a series of multiple choice tests or through the creation of a product? Is our job still to stuff into our students’ heads as much content as possible, or is it to help students learn how to plan and then create? The education system at all levels is being radically changed by social media, and the artificial barriers we’ve constructed over time are shifting, perhaps eventually to disappear.

As many schools and districts are now rushing to buy every student a digital device, I’m concerned that most one-to-one implementation strategies are based on the new tool as the focus of the program. Unless we break out of this limited vision that one-to-one computing is about the device, we are doomed to waste our resources.

"Important research compiled on the effects of students multitasking while learning shows that they are losing depth of learning, getting mentally fatigued, and are weakening their ability to transfer what they have learned to other subjects and situations."

How did this come to be? The Landsat program. “Two generations, eight satellites and millions of pictures later, the space agency, along with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), has accumulated a stunning catalog of images that, when riffled through and stitched together, create a high-definition slide show of our rapidly changing Earth. TIME is proud to host the public unveiling of these images from orbit, which for the first time date all the way back to 1984.”

Google has taken these “choppy images” and upgraded them into stunning videos with incredible details (more information on this is at the website). TIME has also created a story that utilizes the videos and text to help understand the story they tell. * Chapter 1 – Satellite Story

* Chapter 2 – Extreme Resources

* Chapter 3 – Climate Change

* Chapter 4 – Urban Explosion

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words, and these moving images tell a story that is often hard to understand. If we are interested in learning more about how we have impacted our planet this is a great resource.

Spacecraft and telescopes are not built by people interested in what’s going on at home. Rockets fly in one direction: up. Telescopes point in one direction: out. Of all the cosmic bodies studied in the long history of astronomy and space travel, the one that got the least attention was the one that ought to matter most to us—Earth.

That changed when NASA created the Landsat program, a series of satellites that would perpetually orbit our planet, looking not out but down. Surveillance spacecraft had done that before, of course, but they paid attention only to military or tactical sites. Landsat was a notable exception, built not for spycraft but for public monitoring of how the human species was altering the surface of the planet. Two generations, eight satellites and millions of pictures later, the space agency, along with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), has accumulated a stunning catalog of images that, when riffled through and stitched together, create a high-definition slide show of our rapidly changing Earth. TIME is proud to host the public unveiling of these images from orbit, which for the first time date all the way back to 1984.

Over here is Dubai, growing from sparse desert metropolis to modern, sprawling megalopolis. Over there are the central-pivot irrigation systems turning the sands of Saudi Arabia into an agricultural breadbasket — a surreal green-on-brown polka-dot pattern in the desert. Elsewhere is the bad news: the high-speed retreat of Mendenhall Glacier in Alaska; the West Virginia Mountains decapitated by the mining industry; the denuded forests of the Amazon, cut to stubble by loggers.

Jim Knight's understanding of the role of instructional coaching is that reflective practice to improve pedagogy is a must. The "highest impact" upon the learner is to ask yourself "why am I doing this?"

The University of Adelaide provides quality service and support to its community through the efforts of a range of departments. This site includes academic faculties, research centres, learning support and administrative departments.

Darren Smith's insight:

Big Questions for inquiry into science creates an obligation for the teacher to allow students to learn by doing rather than a constuctivist approach from the front of the room. Technology and blended learning to support the inquiry is also essential for the promotion of critical thinking.

An important point to remember when we are considering using technology in the classroom. The integration of technology can be a help in the classroom while simply using technology can become a hinderance. So where do we make that distinction?

This article is about digital technology and how it is used and integrated. Are we truly USING technology when it is not integrated? When we ask for assessment that is presented with powerpoint, for example, we could just as easily ask them to write it in a book or make a poster. Digital technology should be used to facilitate collaboration and build high level thinking skills, that is how learning occurs.

Technology use is the first step. Technology integration is the opportunity to combine technology with pedagogy. Technology infusion is the process of using technology as a tool for learning, thinking, and problem solving.

Assumption #2 (Adult Learner Experience) Include a wide range of instructional design models and theories to appeal to varied experience levels and backgrounds. Assumption #3 (Readiness to Learn) Utilize social media and online collaboration tools to tie learning to social development.

Assumption #4 (Orientation to Learning) Emphasize how the subject matter is going to solve problems that an adult learner regularly encounters. Assumption #5 (Motivation to Learn) There must be a valid reason behind every eLearning course, module or educational activity.

Principle of Andragogy#1 Adults must have a hand in the design and development of their learning experience.

Principle of Andragogy#2 Experience should be at the root of all eLearning tasks and activities.

Principle of Andragogy #3 Real life applications and benefits must be tied to the eLearning course.

Principle of Andragogy #4 Give adult learners the opportunity to absorb information, rather than memorizing it.

"By design, classrooms push students toward learning targets. This is what we’re learning, and when you can do this, I’ll know that you’ve learned it.

In this outcomes-based environment, “success” is determined by attainment–reaching a certain “level,” or being able to provide evidence of understanding. Everyone in the classroom is reaching towards the same target, often with the same way of demonstrating their understanding."

"Having a vision for the future is an natural extension of Hope and Optimism, another 21st century skill I proposed. A vision for the future enhances hope and optimism. To clarify, having a vision for the future is identifying and taking steps toward fulfilling one’s dream. It goes beyond and is qualitatively different than identifying what one wants to be when one grows up or thinking about college. It is about dreams."

As we look at education today ask yourself does the process support students ability to dream their vision? Do we promote a vision of the future as they move through the school system (and think K - 16)?

This post explores these issues and provides resources to help you explore them.

Find a link to Seth Godin's book Stop Stealing Dreams (What is School For?). Check out a video where students share their dream of the future. Consider the guiding questions provided to help your students think about the future (and see two answers from students in Grades 5-6). There are many resources to help you and your class think about this issue and how it relates to the 21st century.

From my experience foundation level (bridging to degree and below) students who have a clear sense of direction (vocational) are generally more motivated and engaged than those who don't know who they are, what types of vocations they are suited to and how to get there.

Writing used to be strictly an in-school activity. Now, kids do 40 percent of their writing outside of school. Called “life writing,” young adults’ social writing spans texts, tweets, social media, and blogs -- and all of it’s making kids more literate.

I can't believe kids are doing more than 40% of their writing outside of school. "Life writing" may make grammar teachers cringe, but at least students are engaging with others and sharing ideas in this format.

I don't remember how I found out about Munseys. It's a website with links to thousands of out-of-print books, with over 1,500 pulp era novels. (RT @BoingBoing: This cool website offers more than 1500 pulp era novels as free e-books.
Via bobbygw

These aren't necessarily detective stories, but my mother remembers mentioning detective novels as a literary genre in her Stanford 1955 English class, and was completely shut down. Now there is a whole class at the university devoted to the dective novel. She feels vindicated. You never know the jewels you may find in the past!

Teresa Simmons sent me these questions for those who are discussing Unmistakable Impact. I think ...

Darren Smith's insight:

Sitting and listening to Jim Knight, we are discussing engagement and the value of PLT. "Why are we here?" requires an authenticity of purpose and interactions. An impact school is grounded in teachers' principles and how open we are to help.

The investigation shows that almost all objectives, teaching tasks and concepts of thecurriculum can be promoted with the aid of tablet computers. Nevertheless, a lot ofprerequisites in terms of hardware and software are required for a successful integration of tablets. In addition, there are some drawbacks, such as the lack of teacher training and slower text production.

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